Traditional medicine like pills or proteins are a thing of the past. In what sounds like sci-fi, genetically-modified living cells made with viruses are being used to treat human disease. While revolutionary, the process is costly, time intensive and difficult. The alternative? One UCSF doctor marries the best of biotech with important healthcare applications.

Dr. Alex Marson’s lab is making changes to the human genome with new CRISPR gene editing technologies offering faster, cheaper and more precise methods in rewriting DNA in human immune cells to teach your body to fight cancer, autoimmunity rare inherited disorders and more. Dr. Marson goes into ethical implications of this approach, highlighting its difference from CRISPR baby applications, and how to ensure future ethical uses.